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Tight Poker, Five Poker Series to Play If You’re Still on Lockdown in Canada

Five Poker Series to Play If You’re Still on Lockdown in Canada

Tilts are inevitable in poker, both live and online. And most of the time, knowing how to deal with mental and emotional swings is one key to be successful in the game. Each player tilts differently, so it is important that you monitor how you’re feeling at the table. You must be in control of your emotions. If you depend too much on these charts, your play becomes predictable, and you will more likely lose than win. As you gain more experience, you will also be skilled enough to loosen your range of starting hands, however if you’re still a beginner, it’s better to stick with the best hands while maintaining flexibility and caution.

Tight Poker

Thursday, March 26th, 2020 | Written by Renee

New Online Poker Players Will Do Well To Keep These Essential Tips In Mind

The usually vibrant live poker scene has become dull and silent these days as the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread all over the globe. Over the last two months, a lot of major poker events have been cancelled, and many are still waiting to be dropped as organizers monitor the situation. Thankfully, online poker sites are coming to the rescue!

Over the past few weeks, online poker rooms have enjoyed an increase in user traffic as players flock to online sites to continue doing what they love. Operators responded by announcing major online tournaments, attracting more players in the process.

If you are a poker enthusiast yourself, you probably have thought about going online too to entertain yourself while on home quarantine. The best option to play competitive poker is to go online. If this is your first time at playing online poker, we have some key tips to help you get started on the right note!

Limit Your Tables

As a beginner, you will find it difficult to play at multiple tables as that will need a lot of mental strength and composure. So do not aim to take on a dozen tables as it will only affect your concentration. You can begin playing one to three tables, or set a certain limit where you can still focus on your gameplay. Even if you’re only playing one table, if you are profiting from it consistently, that’s a good start! You can move up if you feel you’re already capable to play multiple tables.

Be Flexible

If you are a beginner, using starting hand charts can help reduce the pressure of making starting hand selection choices, but be careful not to over-rely on them. Adopt a flexible style, adjust your ranges, and alter your starting hands in line with the dynamic at the table.

If you depend too much on these charts, your play becomes predictable, and you will more likely lose than win. As you gain more experience, you will also be skilled enough to loosen your range of starting hands, however if you’re still a beginner, it’s better to stick with the best hands while maintaining flexibility and caution.

Keep Your Emotions In Check

If you let your emotions rule you, it will result in poor decisions, and ultimately, failure. So if you feel like things are getting out of hand, it will be best to take a break, leave the table and just rejuvenate. That way, your mind will be reset and you will be more prepared for the next battle.

Each Player Is Different

It’s unwise to assume that all players are the same. As a beginner, this is one of the most important things you should keep in mind. Do not treat each player on equal level. Instead, pay attention on their play style, their cards during showdown, and their actions at certain scenarios. This will help you read their strategy and make a proper response that will benefit you as the game progresses.

If you keep these four things in mind as you start your online poker journey, you will enhance your game and gain an advantage over other newbies out there who are playing against you at the same tables.

It still remains uncertain when this pandemic will finally be over and when we can return to our normal lives. The best alternative for us, poker fans, is to go online and play, all the more important that we pay attention to these tips!

Check out the major online poker sites as they are currently running some really big tournaments. If you are not very confident of going online and playing for real money, don’t be rushed. Take your time and learn as much as you can so that you are confident and have a decent strategy!

Slowly But Surely, Live Poker Returns to US Casinos

Live poker rooms in the US are slowly beginning to reopen for the first time since mid-March. But it will take quite some time before the game returns to its pre-coronavirus state.

The Seminole Hard Rock Tampa poker room installed plexiglass dividers to help slow the spread of COVID-19. (Image: shrtpoker.com)

If you’re looking for a card room to visit this week, your options all depend on what part of the country you live in. Most poker rooms remain closed, but those players looking for a game may find one just a reasonable road trip away from their homes.

Where Can You Play Live Poker in the US?

Las Vegas casinos are permitted to reopen on June 4, although many will still remain closed, at least temporarily. Still, players looking to hit the felt will find a few places to play cards. That’s due to the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s four-handed restrictions. The Venetian is one of the few Las Vegas casinos that will give four-handed poker a shot starting on June 4. South Point is also expected to reopen its card room on or around that date.

Within a five-hour drive from Sin City, you’ll some other card rooms open including Talking Stick, the largest poker room in Phoenix (and all of Arizona), and the Jamul Casino in San Diego.

Commerce, The Bike, and the other Los Angeles poker rooms will remain closed until California Governor Gavin Newsom grants LA County permission to reopen its casinos.

In the Southern Oklahoma town of Durant, the popular Choctaw Casino — home to annual WPT events and WSOP Circuit series tournaments — is open for business. On Monday evening, five low-stakes cash games were in action. The poker room at Choctaw in Pocola, Oklahoma is also open.

The Texas Card House is one of a few card rooms in Texas that is back in business. Other Texas poker options include card rooms in Houston, Rio Grande Valley, and Austin.

Florida has multiple card rooms open, most of which have been busy since reopening. Places to play include Oxford Down (Summerfield), Seminole Hard Rock (Tampa), Orange City Poker (Orange City), Daytona Beach Poker Room (Daytona Beach), and Kings Court Key (Florida City).

Most other poker rooms in the US remain closed, but the live poker scene will soon return.

Poker Room Changes, COVID-19 Complicate Things

Although the live poker scene is starting to return, the game is changing in various ways that may last for quite a while.

Many casinos in Las Vegas, for example, won’t reopen the poker rooms right away due to the stringent four-max restrictions. It’s unlikely the gaming board will relax those restrictions any time soon.

Other states have less stringent guidelines. In Florida, for example, most poker rooms are playing six-handed games. Those are smaller games than what most poker players are accustomed to, but are often more appealing than four-handed poker.

Many card rooms, including the Seminole Hard Rock in Tampa, have installed plexiglass dividers to help protect players from catching the coronavirus while at the table. Some poker players on social media have expressed their disdain for this, and argue that it takes away from the social aspect of live poker.

The live poker scene in the US is slowly but surely improving, but it could be months or longer before casinos can again seat nine-handed games. That all depends on the continued spread of COVID-19, and it’s anyone’s guess as to how many card rooms may never reopen in the wake of the pandemic.

How to keep your poker game on point during lockdown

It’s plain for all to see that whole swathes of civilization seem to have ground to a halt over the past few weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Social and sporting events have been almost entirely called off, and as a pastime that spans the two disciplines, poker has been hit particularly hard. Just about every tournament in March and April has been either postponed , cancelled, or transitioned into an online series.

Yet this is also a time when out of necessity, if anything else, we make more time for game playing than ever. Fortunately, even if you can’t physically pitch up in Vegas or your local poker room for a tournament, there are plenty of ways to indulge your hobby, keep your game sharp and maybe even pocket some winnings.

Play Online

Where there are properly regulated online games available to you, this is the obvious solution. The online gaming sites are among the few sectors that are continuing to thrive in these uncertain times. There’s plenty to choose from, and new providers like Mr Gold Casino are keeping the more established names on their toes with some interesting promotions. In the absence of formal tournaments, you can always have a game of three card poker or Caribbean Stud against one of the live dealers.

Watch Poker Training Videos

Poker training videos are still a valuable tool for improving your game. There are a number of poker training sites offering live streams, including Pokercode, Run it Once, Pokercoaching.com, Red Chip Poker, and Upswing Poker to name a few. Of course, all of these require some financial outlay, but there are also some free resources out there. Venture down the rabbit hole that is YouTube and you never know what you might find. Belgian pro Fried Meulders’ channel is a great place to start.

Try a New Type of Poker Variant

Read interviews with the big names in poker and for the most part if they’re discussing specific hands it’ll be about nothing but no-limit holdem. Boring, boring, boring! The beauty of poker is in its variations, and if you’re willing to broaden your horizons, there is enormous value to be had in other disciplines. Most likely there will never be a better time to sit down and get to grips with a new poker variant. Once live poker and the tournament circuit open up again, being skilled at non-Hold’em poker variants will give you so many more options for winning at the felt, as well as keep game play fresh.

Read a Poker Book

If poker training videos aren’t your cup of tea, you can always pick up a classic poker book to do your learning. Some poker literature has gotten a bit dated, but it’s often still full of great tips. While you’re locked down, you might as well get reading. If you need a starting point, Super System by poker legend Doyle Brunson was first published more than 40 years ago and is still regarded as the definitive poker strategy guide. As a more contemporary option, Moorman: The Inside Story provide intriguing insights on the 21 st century game. Venerable poker book publisher D&B Poker has plenty of other great titles to choose and learn from as well.

Try a Poker Solver

If you’ve always been a bit hesitant to get into the solver game, now’s as good a time as any to get your feet wet. Of course, poker solvers are not just for newbies. Advanced ones like MonkerSolver and PIOsolver can provide strategic insights that even a seasoned pro will find handy. They can be confusing to work with at first, but if you can’t find the time now to get your head around one, the chances are you never will!

Julia is a freelance writer with an affinity for poker. She plays in the occasional home game in the UK with her gal pals for low stakes and is an avid fan of free-to-play online poker games.

1. Play Only Your Better Hands

When you’re new to the game, the first thing you want to do is dive in and get involved in as many hands as possible. The idea of folding hand after hand while the action goes on around you seems odd, but that is exactly what you should be doing as you learn to play poker.

Play too many of the wrong starting hands (your two hole cards) is a recipe for disaster as you’re likely to be losing out to another player from the start. With hands like 7-J and A-6, you will be dominated so often by players with better kickers. For example, calling a raise with A-6 and hitting an ace on the flop might look fantastic, but quite often the raiser will have a much better ace, playing for example A-K down to A-J. In this case, he has you dominated.

You must be selective in the poker hands you play. In most scenarios you can play any pair, your aces down to A-J or even A-10, connecting cards like 10-J, J-Q, Q-K, and then a wider selection for suited connectors, for example, 9-10 of diamonds. Connectors open straight possibilities, while suited connectors add flush chances, too.

So, choose wisely, especially at the start of a tournament. Why risk losing a huge pot, or worse your entire stack, on a weak hand that you could easily have avoided?

2. Importance of Position at the Poker Table

You’ve now got to grips with the range of starting hands you should consider playing. But before you jump in the next time a marginal hand like A-10 turns up, you must consider your position at the poker table.

By position, we mean where you’re sitting in relation to the dealer. If you’re in the blinds or the next seat along, you’re in early position. Next comes the mid positions in the middle of the table, and finally you get the dealer and the player to his right who are said to be in late position.

Why is position important? Basically, because the later position you have, the more players must act before you. So, if you’re the dealer, you have much more information on other players and what they’re up to compared to someone in early position.

This means you get to bet last, so you can exert pressure on your opponents. In late positions, you can widen your opening hand selection. Let’s say that before the flop, everyone folds around to you on the button. You can pretty much try and steal the blinds by raising with a wide selection of hands. If they call you, they do so knowing they must act first after the flop and beyond, putting them at a disadvantage.

Simply keep in mind that if it’s folded around, the later you are the fewer people are still to act, so your hand value increases. It’s one of the basic concepts of how to play poker.

3. Risk v Reward in Poker

Now with starting hands and position taken into consideration, your next strategic decision is to note the size of your stack compared to those of your opponents. If you’re both ‘deep’, that is having large stacks and small blind levels in a tournament; then this is less important.

But if you are short-stacked and others have more, you can’t afford to dabble in speculative pots only to fold. Doing so risks your chips bleeding dry, or gets you pot committed, meaning you must pretty much play out the hand for all your stack, perhaps with a weak holding.

If short-stacked it’s better to grab an opportunity to push all-in, weighing up the risk v reward: the risk is you’ll be called and beaten, the reward is everyone folds, and you pick up the blinds, or someone calls and you double up.

On the flip side, if you’re in late position with a large stack and the big blind is short-stacked, open-raising (if everyone else folded to you) to try and steal the blind has more risk because the big blind might end up shoving all-in, possibly with the better hand. You might now be committed to calling and before you know it, you’ve doubled the player up.

You may also have heard of pot odds. Explaining this is a level above the requirements here, but you can grasp the principle behind it. If you can work out in percentage terms roughly how likely it is your hand will improve and win the pot, you must compare it in percentage terms with how many chips you’ll need to commit in relation to the total size of the pot.

In other words, if you have a 25% chance of making your hand, don’t call a bet equivalent of 50% of the pot!

4. Keeping Your Emotions Level

When someone asks how do you play poker, many would say it’s about keeping a poker face. This means your opponent can never be sure how strong or weak your hand is. It keeps them guessing. There’s another phrase you may have heard about – going on tilt.

This happens when you’ve experienced bad luck or feel you’ve been hard done by. You start to boil up inside and then lose all sense of playing correctly. You play way too many hands, bet too much, call off too many chips and, of course, lose more as a result.

Don’t be the player who goes on tilt, hard as it may seem when you first learn poker. If an opponent plays terribly and lucks his way to winning a big pot against you, don’t express your anger. These things happen, you just have to remember that over the longer term, you will make a profit in the same circumstances.

5. Your Table Image and Player Notes

On a similar theme, but a little more subtle is table image and notes. Always concentrate on what the other players are doing, because over time you’ll get a read on what sort of player they are. Do they play too many hands (loose), so you can give them less credibility for holding good starting hands? Perhaps they play too little, known as tight or a rock? If so, steer clear when they come out betting because they’ll only be playing something strong. And raise more to them pre-flop because the chances are they will fold.

Online poker software usually allows you to make a note next to a player at the table, so you can jot down observations of how the player bets or any other pattern you notice. The next time you come to play this opponent, you have a pre-existing read to use to your advantage.

While that’s all well and good, never lose sight of the fact that other players will also be observing you. Try to mix up your playing style a little, playing the odd loose hand if it’s cheap enough, and changing up your bet sizing so that it does not become predictable, offering clues to the strength or otherwise of your cards.

Now Try for Yourself with Free Poker

With these five how to play poker for beginners steps, you can put yourself in a much better position to become a winning poker player. It might seem a lot to take in at first, but before long, after a little practise on Replay Poker, it will become second nature.

Is the Grass Greener for Poker Players Who Quit?

Sean Chaffin

No matter the sport, even the greats eventually have to call it quits at some point – Michael Jordan in basketball, Joe Montana in football, Pele in soccer, and Wayne Gretzky in hockey.

Even boxing legend George Foreman finally called it quits after 81 fights and two comebacks. But poker is a bit different. While there may be some physical and mental elements involved in the game, those may not come into play when it comes to leaving the game.

Players may leave poker behind for a variety of reasons – from being bored with the game to pursuing other career choices and family goals. For others, business opportunities might take them in an unexpected or different direction.

Some still dabble in the game, but no longer make it their full-time profession. Some may tire of the variance, the travel, and the natural financial swings that can come with being a full-time poker player.

Life as a professional can be tough, and several have sought out other options over the last decade or so.

Here’s a look at some of those players who’ve decided to leave the game behind for greener pastures.

Vanessa Selbst

The most successful female player in the history of the game, Selbst announced at the beginning of 2018 that she was leaving the game as well as her sponsor PokerStars. Selbst had become one of the best-known players in the game with almost $12 million in live tournament winnings. That record includes three World Series of Poker bracelets, two World Poker Tour final tables, and numerous other championships.

The 34-year-old New Yorker accepted a job at Bridgewater Associates, a hedge fund firm, but still planned to play occasionally. Her decision and transition to a job outside the game was even profiled in an article in the New York Times.

Selbst was obviously excited about her new career. However, she had reservations after expressing anti-capitalist views in the past about players who left the game to enter the world of finance. Along with a desire to travel less, she and her wife also had plans to start a family.

“You have no job security, no health insurance,” she told the newspaper about life as a poker pro. “You’re travelling, constantly. You have no stability in terms of your life. And there are huge swings because if more people now have a chance to win, it’s very easy to have a losing year.”

endulum swinging back and forth between a big pile of cash and pile of pennies.

Beyond accepting a position at the firm, the Yale-educated lawyer expressed some disillusionment with the changing face of the poker world in a post on her Facebook page. She still plays occasionally, but a 9-to-5 has taken the place of life at the poker felt.

Phil Gordon

A mainstay on television during the height of the poker boom, Gordon already entered the poker world as a successful businessman. He began playing poker after making millions of dollars in the tech industry. He is now the CEO and founder of Chatbox.com, an “integrated messaging ecosystem where businesses create and automate personalised, results-oriented conversations across texting, chat, and social channels.”

At the poker table, Gordon has almost $2.8 million in live tournament winnings. In 2001, he finished fourth in the WSOP Main Event for $399,610 and took home a WPT title in 2004 after winning the $5,200 Bay 101 Shooting Star. Gordon’s WPT win is memorable after he knocked out his final two opponents at the same time, including 2003 WSOP Main Event champion Chris Moneymaker.

Along with his business interests and poker, Gordon is also the author of several books on poker and served as a co-host of ESPN’s Poker Edge podcast. He also provided commentary for the Bravo network’s Celebrity Poker Showdown. Gordon is the founder of Bad Beat on Cancer, a charity where players donate 1 per cent of whatever they win in a tournament to the Prevent Cancer Foundation.

It’s not exactly clear why he left the game, but Gordon hasn’t cashed in a tournament since 2011. One reason may be Black Friday – Gordon was a member of Team Full Tilt and helped design the company’s software. Another reason may be that he is married and raising two sons.

He possibly just became bored with the game and disillusioned a bit with Las Vegas in general, as he noted a bit in a blog post in 2014. With so many business, family, and philanthropic interests, Gordon may have just decided to put the game on hold for a while as he outlined in 2014 in a blog post about poker.

“While ‘retired’ officially from playing, I think there are still plenty of things I can add,” he wrote. “I want to start a weekly Google Hangout to talk poker. I miss my weekly radio show on ESPN radio. I want to bring some of that back.”

Running Chatbox seems to keep him busy, and it doesn’t look like Gordon has quite made it back to the poker table or poker media much in the intervening four years.

Tony Gouga (Tony G)

A popular player on televised events during the poker boom of the 2000s, Gouga was known for his frequent table talk and occasionally needling opponents including Phil Hellmuth. This Lithuanian has $6.1 million in live tournament winnings with numerous wins and final tables. That number includes two memorable final table appearances on the World Poker Tour.

A technology business entrepreneur, Gouga founded the European gaming and poker site TonyBet.com in 2009. The company was acquired by Swedish gaming operator Betsson in 2016. Gouga left the poker behind in 2014 after becoming a member of the European Parliament. Much of his work focuses on bettering the business climate in Europe, particularly in the technology sector.

Gouga recently made some news after partnering with Dallas Mavericks owner and “Shark Tank” host and investor Mark Cuban on the Lympo blockchain fitness app. The app rewards users who complete walking and running challenges with crypto tokens to exchange for sports and fitness products.

“We want people to be healthy,” he told the Dallas Morning News while visiting the Mavericks training facility. “We want people to be motivated. That's what Lympo tokens are all about. It's basically frequent-flier points for staying healthy, on your phone. We want people to be tracking their data and owning their health data. Whatever exercise they do, we will track it."

While he may have left the game to get more involved in politics, Gouga jumped back in the game at least a bit in 2017, and 2018 with his first tournament cashes since 2013. In just four scores in high roller events, Gouga secured a win, a runner-up, and two fourth-place finishes for $1.25 million.

Poker may not be his main focus anymore, but it looks like he’s still got plenty of skills.

Doug Polk

One of the biggest names in poker over the last few years, Polk made some big news in September by announcing that he was leaving the game behind. One of the most successful players in the game over the last few years, the 30-year-old has amassed $9.5 million in live tournament winnings including three WSOP bracelets. The biggest score of his career came in 2017 when he took down the $111,111 High Roller for One Drop at the WSOP for $3.7 million.

Polk seems to be a man of many interests. That includes a recent foray into stand-up comedy, investing in cryptocurrency, and even recently launching a comedy and news video channel to go along with his already-popular poker channel.

“I’m unbelievably grateful for the opportunities I’ve gotten in poker,” Polk said on his YouTube channel. “For quite some time I’ve not enjoyed playing poker. It’s felt like a grind. It’s felt like work.”

poker player head first going into a meat grinder.

After playing the game for more than a decade, Polk said he doesn’t find the game as much fun anymore and would be moving on to other pursuits. He said many of his poker friends have also left the game and moved on to other jobs and businesses.

In recent weeks, Polk has posted some poker-related videos but hasn’t cashed in a tournament since September of 2017. While playing poker has been put on hold for now, Polk did leave an opening for returning to the game down the line if the fire begins to burn again.

“I don’t see myself playing poker anymore,” he said. “I don’t know if that means if I’m never playing poker again. I’m not going to be one of the 50 million people who, quote ‘retire,’ and then start playing again next week. I don’t want to do any of that stuff because I don’t want to box myself in like that. I’m just saying for the time being I’m not going to be playing poker. I’m going to take a step back from the game for a bit.”

Annie Duke

After a successful career in poker, Duke was involved in two failed entities that left a bad taste in the mouths of many in the poker world – UltimateBet and the Epic Poker League. The latter of these didn’t last a year before filing for bankruptcy, and she hasn’t had any tournament cashes since 2011.

At the tables, Duke has almost $4.3 million in live tournament winnings, and that includes placing 10th in the WSOP Main Event in 2000 while nine months pregnant. She added a WSOP bracelet in 2004 in a $1,500 Omaha Hi/Lo event for $137,860 and won the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship in 2010.

The 53-year-old mother of four and sister of poker player, Howard Lederer, was at one time the leading female WSOP money winner before being overtaken by Vanessa Selbst.

“My win in the Omaha Hi-Lo split accomplished much more than merely securing my position at the top of the heap among female poker players,” she wrote in her 2005 autobiography. “It established my credibility as one of the best poker players, irrespective of gender.”

Following the Epic Poker League debacle, Duke seems to have decided to avoid the poker world altogether. She has repositioned herself as a corporate speaker and strategist. In 2018 she authored the book “Thinking In Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts” and continues to work in the business strategy space.

Alex Jacob

This 34-year-old may have become better known for his dominating performances on the game show “Jeopardy” in 2015 than his play on the felt. Jacob appeared on the show seven times, winning $151,802. Later that year he won the Tournament of Champions for $250,000.

While that may have been a nice haul and garnered Jacob plenty of media attention, his career in poker dwarfs his game show winnings. Dating back to 2005, Jacob has more than $2.6 million in live tournament winnings. His biggest win came in 2006 when he won the $10,000 U.S. Poker Championship for $878,500.

A graduate of Yale University with degrees in economics and mathematics, Jacob left the game in 2012 to become a currency trader. In 2016, he returned to some occasional play and has had three WSOP cashes since.

He enjoys travelling and was recently back on the “Jeopardy” set, where he was selected as the No. 1 pick in the inaugural Jeopardy All-Stars draft for Team Buzzy.

The tournament was set to air in December 2018 and no doubt plenty of fans will be watching to see if Jacob can bring home the money again. The show’s website even offered fans a chance to select their own fantasy teams – and this poker shark should be in plenty of starting line-ups.

Mark Vos

This former Full Tilt poker pro was known as a short stack hit-and-run specialist, He would buy into high-stakes games online with a short stack and then attempting to run it up before exiting the table with a hefty profit. The technique may have angered some players but worked often, and the 35-year-old Australian won millions of dollars before leaving the game behind for the most part in 2011.

As a tournament player, Vos has $1.35 million in live tournament winnings and scored a WSOP bracelet in 2006 in a $2,000 No Limit Hold’em event for $803,274. Vos made use of his expertise at short-stack poker to secure the win and even wrote an article for Hendon Mob describing how he worked his stack up to eventually claim the title.

“The key to my short-stack survival was that I was able to steal enough pots to stay alive,” he wrote. “There was only one play I could use; move in, and hope everyone folded. It worked out for me, despite the fact I was card dead most of the day.

anthropomorphic shark at poker table with s very small stack of chips in front of him.

“If your stack drops to the point where you only have five or six big blinds, you’re far more likely to get called. So, you need to be very aware of the size of your stack and the location of the button. If you’re sitting on eight big blinds and you’re in middle position, you should look for a chance to push in and steal before you move through the blinds.”

Haseeb Qureshi

This player was undoubtedly committed to leaving poker. So much so, that not only did Qureshi stop playing poker in 2013 but only left himself about $10,000 to start a new life. He donated the rest of his $500,000 winnings to charity. At one time Qureshi was a Full Tilt Poker pro but decided to move in a different direction. Unhappy with poker, he set about travelling the world and writing.

“I searched desperately for what to do with myself,” he wrote in his blog. “I lived and worked on a farm, took a ten-day vow of silence, trained myself in meditation, taught English to refugees, went back to university finish my English/philosophy degree, and worked on writing a book.”

That culminated in the publishing of “How to Be a Poker Player: The Philosophy of Poker” in 2013. In the book, Qureshi “explores the depths of strategy, psychology, and philosophy within poker, and teaches his uniquely scientific perspective on approaching the game.”

Qureshi has now moved entirely out of the poker world and is a general partner in the firm MetaStable Capital. The company is a cryptocurrency asset hedge fund manager. A firm believer in altruism, Qureshi donates 33 per cent of his income to charity. He may not play poker anymore but seems to have found a life that fits him well and makes him happy.

Living the poker life is tough. Many thrive on the challenge and action while others dream of getting there. Even though some of these players have racked up some significant cashes, other opportunities and ventures attracted them to a different place in life.

Poker is a great game, but even the best occasionally decides to find a different path in life.

5 Things You Should NOT Do in Live Poker Games

Online poker is very different from the games you can find in local casinos or in home games with your friends. With that in mind, to crush live poker games you need to adjust your strategy and take a different approach versus what you do online. You can quickly improve your live poker game by avoiding some common pitfalls. In this article, I’ll be going over five of them.

1. Do not get distracted while playing

Many players love to read something on their phones, listen to music or even watch a movie while playing. However, doing those sorts of things practically guarantees that you will be missing out on lots of valuable information (unless you’re actively using your device to take poker notes).

If you turn your attention from the game to your mobile phone or tablet, you will likely not see how your opponents are playing or what kind of mistakes they keep making repeatedly. On top of that, you will probably miss the size of the pot or even stacks in play, which will complicate your decision making.

Moreover, seeing a showdown while you are not in the hand can give you plenty of information about your opponents and help you understand how they play. Therefore, players who observe all the action are usually ones who take it down at the end of the day.

2. Do not play the same range of hands

In most cases, live poker games are much looser compared to online, and you should take advantage of that. Therefore, trying to balance your ranges and sticking with the same holdings as online does not make much sense while playing in a casino or even in your home games.

Your ultimate goal should be to play more speculative hands, which could flop huge and win large pots at the end. Obviously, you will need advanced poker training to build a complete winning strategy. But to start, you can play more suited connectors, gappers, Ax hands, and small pocket pairs, which will help you win big pots when you improve.

Especially when in any of the late positions, you will have many chances to see cheap flops in live games, so take advantage of that and put your opponents to the test.

3. Do not overthink bet sizing

Your bet sizing should be very straightforward in live poker games. Many players do not see sizes in relation to the pot, so you can easily get away with value betting big when you have a hand. This is especially the case if there are any possible draws on the board, as your opponents will not be looking to lay down their hands and will chase those draws even without getting right odds. Thus, it is your job to choose big sizing and make them pay for their mistakes.

People do this all the time w/o headphones anyways

— Kevin MacPhee (@KevinMacphee) December 17, 2017

On the other hand, bluffing with smaller sizing can often mean that you’ll get almost the same amount of folds from your opponents (compared to bigger bets), so this could be another reasonable adjustment. Obviously, these strategies work best against recreational players, and you should not end up using them versus regulars in your game.

4. Do not overplay your weak hands

Overplaying weak hands is one of the biggest mistakes in live games. As I mentioned before, players tend to play quite loose, so you should not be surprised to see a hand such as 54o at showdown, something you would not need to take into consideration while playing online.

Therefore, when your opponent starts raising you out of nowhere, he could have more strong hands such as random two pairs, and you need to consider those. Often, if you face a raise and hold only a pair, folding is a standard play if you are not playing against ultra-aggressive opponents.

Learning to lay down those medium strength holdings can turn you into a winning player faster than anything else.

5. Do not leave poker tells behind

Poker tells can give you a lot of information in any live game, but if you are playing with your friends, it could become a gold mine. In most home games, you will be facing same players over and over again, so you have opportunity to build some serious stacks if you’ve got good reads on them.

I’d love to play poker with these guys. So many tells.

— Wishful Thinker (@wiseoldwoman) December 20, 2017

This is a topic that many books have been written about, so it’s impossible and perhaps unnecessary to try and cover everything here. However, as a rule of thumb, many weak players act strong when they are weak and vice versa, which could translate into many different tells.

Therefore, make sure to observe how your opponents play and reacts at the table. If you are lucky enough to notice something more than once, this could indicate a tell, which will help you make lots of money.

Tadas Peckaitis is a professional poker player, author of the free poker book “Play 'A' game and be the boss at your poker table”, and poker coach at mypokercoaching.com.

He is also a big fan of personal effectiveness and always trying to do more. Tadas shares his knowledge about both of these topics with his students and deeply enjoys it.

2021's Best Freeroll Poker Sites

Hugely popular with players, freeroll poker gives you the opportunity to play Texas Hold'em and other real money poker games without spending any real money. If you win on freerolls, rather than walking away with play money, you can leave the tables with real cash.

If you've never played poker freerolls before, don't worry. You'll find the best places for poker practice with our exclusive freeroll passwords right here. Learn how to get the most out of each freeroll, where to find the best no deposit poker bonus, and everything else you'll need for making money on free poker tournaments.

Play for free at the top poker rooms online

Enjoy a full range of online poker variants

Win real money at fast payout sites

CardsChat Exclusive Freerolls & Passwords

CardsChat has a large number of exclusive money-added freerolls for our members. There are various levels of qualification including a specially created Freeroll Club for the most active members of the forum. Freeroll Passwords - PokerStars, 888poker, Partypoker & More has detailed information about how to get our passwords. When you are ready to start playing in free money tournaments check out our CardsChat calendar, which lists all of the great freerolls that members can qualify to play in. Learn more about CardsChat freerolls here.

The difference between free play and freeroll sites

There are two types of sites — free poker sites and real money poker sites. Most players assume that for players with no bankroll, instant no deposit poker sites are the way to go. But here's the thing. Most free poker rooms that you play for free don't actually reward you with real money. The truth? Real money poker sites are the best place for poker practice, and to play freeroll tournament poker.

Freeroll poker no deposit sites let you play for free or for real. It's your choice. But because the sites want to lure you in and get you to eventually play for real money, they tend to offer more freeroll poker tournaments for real money prizes than the free-only poker rooms. If your goal is to build your bankroll, deciding which site to play at is a no-brainer.

What to expect at freeroll poker sites

Poker Freerolls. Let's be real. Freeroll poker tournaments have the word "free" in it. And every poker player, no matter how talented and rich they might be, loves free stuff. Especially free money. So when you sit down for poker practice at the best freeroll poker sites, you can expect to see a lot of players sitting down to play against you.

For example, if a typical $10+1 tournament at an online poker site attracts 500 players, expect to see 1,000+ players sitting in a poker tournament that has absolutely no buy-in. And as the prize pool grows, so does the number of players who choose to enter the tournament. Poker players—especially newbies—are attracted to freeroll poker no deposit sites like moths to a flame, so expect to see a big crowd whenever you play in one.

What makes a great freeroll poker room?

Looking for the best freeroll poker sites? Our favorites are the ones that offer big prizes while limiting the number of players. Many sites hold freerolls with a $10 prize. We prefer the sites that offer freerolls that lead to tournament seats in big events. For example, at some of the big poker sites, like our top rated sites, you can actually win a seat in a major land-based event like the World Series of Poker, the Aussie Millions, or another tournament — all through a freeroll.

Start your Own Poker Club with Home Games

Imagine having your own online Poker Club, for just you and your friends - where you can arrange your own private poker games whenever you want! It’s called Home Games. It’s free to use and it’s really easy to set up. Download the poker software then follow these simple steps to get started:

1) In the main lobby, select the ‘More’ menu then ‘Home Games’. If you’ve been invited to join a club, click ‘Join a Poker Club’; to start a new club, click ‘Create a Poker Club’.

2) Give your new club a name and invitation code (make sure not to include your personal password!). We’ll send you an email with your club details and ID number, which you can then share with your friends so they can join your club.

3) Your club will be added to the Home Games lobby in your client. Click on the ‘Club Lobby’ button. You can now accept new club members, schedule and register for games, and manage your club from the Club Lobby.

Your exclusive online Poker Club is completely free, and includes these key features:

Club Management Tools appoint administrators, accept/remove members, customize your club lobby and game tables, set length of club seasons and more.

Player Statistics view game results, points earned, top finishes, knockouts for each club member and even tournament Leader Boards

Game Management Tools customize game parameters and schedule games and tournaments, including Hold’em, Omaha, Stud, mixed games like HORSE and others

Save Favorite Game Setups easy to replay your favorite customized game configurations

Private Games all games and tournaments are available only to members of your club

Here are some tips for creating your Poker Club.

Your Club Name must be unique and should contain between 8-30 characters, including spaces. It mustn’t be offensive, infringe on anyone’s rights or contain a URL or anyone else’s username (it can contain your own username, but this is not necessary). Club Names will be reviewed and won’t be displayed to other players until approved, after which they cannot be changed. You’ll receive an email approving or rejecting the Club Name within five days.

When creating an Invitation Code for your Club, remember that they must be between 8-16 characters, are case sensitive, must not contain your username, and must start with a letter and contain at least one number. Also, they must not start with the letters ‘tmp’.

Poker Clubs can have up to 501 members - if you need to increase this limit, please contact support. You can create up to two Clubs and join up to 10. To see all the Clubs to which you belong, check out ‘My Poker Clubs’ in the Home Games tab of the lobby.

Both the Club Manager and Club Administrators can schedule tournaments and create games, but only the Club Manager can manage the Club. Use the ‘Grant Admin’ button in the ‘Manage Club’ tab to give players Club Administrator status.

When playing real money Home Games you’ll earn reward points just as you would in other real money games.

Home Games are about playing poker with people you know and trust, and for that reason members of a Poker Club can play at the same table or tournament in a Home Game even if they are on the same IP address or location. Also, chat moderation is generally not provided. However, we are just as serious about the security of Home Games as any other games - if you suspect improper behavior on the part of fellow Club members, please email support and we will investigate.

Click here to read Home Games Terms & Conditions.

If you have any queries about creating or joining a Poker Club, or about Home Games, please contact Support.

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So, let's define, what was the most valuable conclusion of this review: With multiple countries on lockdown due to COVID-19, the number of new players at online poker sites is increasing. Here are four tips to help new players! at Five Poker Series to Play If You’re Still on Lockdown in Canada